Publisher/Date:
Sherry Enterprises/Schwerpunkt (2022)
Product Type:
Scenario Pack
Country of Origin:
United States
Contents:
10 scenarios on cardstock, brief player notes
Released in 2022, the 19th iteration of Sherry Enterprises/Schwerpunkt’s long-running series of Rally Point themed scenario packs features scenarios for the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit (ASLSK), although the scenarios are also deliberately designed and playtested to be played as regular ASL scenarios as well. This is the third–and allegedly final–Rally Point to feature ASLSK as a theme.
The scenario pack was released primarily to take advantage of the 2019 publication of ASLSK Volume 4, which introduced the Japanese to the Starter Kit world. All of the scenarios of the pack feature the Japanese. Their opponents include Chinese Nationalists, Dutch [3 scenarios], Indians, Americans [4 scenarios, including one with USMC], and Soviets, with a time span of from 1942-1945.
To play all the scenarios, one needs ASLSK boards i, j, k, l, m, n, o, q, t, and u. Boards i and j are from ASLSK Bonus Pack #2, boards k and l are from ASLSK Expansion Pack #2, boards m, n, and o are from ASLSK #4, board q is from ASLSK Expansion Pack #1, and boards t and u are from ASLSK #3. Thus a substantial investment in ASLSK products is necessary to play every scenario here. The boards also illustrate how sprawling ASLSK has become, despite the fact that the original intention of ASLSK was simply to help people learn ASL.
The scenarios of Rally Point 19 are mostly small (6 out of 10), though there are 2 medium-sized scenarios and 2 large scenarios. Eight of the scenarios feature at least one AFV, despite the infantry-heavy nature of the theater, primarily because Schwerpunkt designers really like AFVs. Most of the scenarios here will play very quickly, making them suitable for tournament play. Despite that fact, the scenarios of the pack have received little play on ROAR, which makes one wonder if many ASLers do not realize that the scenarios of this pack are also fully functional ASL scenarios–they are not only for ASLSK players.
Many of the scenarios look very playable and several have interesting situations. RPT182 (The Horiuchi Hustle) features a Japanese attack on a Dutch AA Gun position, with Dutch reinforcements coming to the rescue from two different directions. RPT185 (Sumatra Skirmish), another Dutch scenario, features a Japanese attack with two small forces against two Dutch forces, one of which has two armored cars to help it out. RPT187 (Herman’s Heater) [yes, the scenario titles are all this bad], features a large U.S. force (19 squads, plus toys that include a flamethrower) attacking a well-armed Japanese force defending a hill. The largest scenario is RPT190 (Tenacious Takikawa), set in Manchuria in 1945. Here the attacking Soviets have 21 squads and 3 tanks, while the Japanese have 12 squads and 1 Gun, plus the capability to create two DC Heroes.
Many of the scenarios have to have special rules or accommodations to fit into ASLSK parameters, such as mandating a permanent smoke counter in a hex to represent a burning wreck (which does not exist in ASLSK). These are pretty straightforward. Players using the full ASL rules need not make any of these accommodations.
Given the fast-playing actions here, this pack probably deserves more attention from ASLers than it has gotten so far.
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